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Trans Iowa Live

Trans Iowa v13 is officially under way. I’m driving support for Josh and Walter Zitz, and by “driving” I mean I’m going to be sitting in the hotel (see: hot tub) on stand-by in case they need someone to come and get them. The weather has not been ideal leading up to this, and it looks like we’re in for a decent amount of rain and some pretty chilly winds. A couple of years ago, at TIv11, there were no finishers due to weather. I’ve been told that this year is substantially better than that year, so hopefully we’ll see a good percent of the riders finish. If you want to follow along and listen for rider call-in updates, here’s the TransIowa Radio page. Feel free to also follow along for my live updates as I post them, from rider positions to hot tub positions.

1:50 PM (4/30): Mark Johnson pulls home the sole Single Speed finish of the year, and is the 6th and final finisher for Trans Iowa v13. Dan Lockery was 8 miles out at the cutoff, so just barely missed out on finishing this year.

12:04 PM (4/30): Walter, Jackson Hinde, and Matt Acker come in for a joint third place. There are still 2 people out on the course: Dan Lockery and Mark Johnson.

11:20 AM (4/30): Greg Gleason rolls across the line for second place.

10:48 AM (4/30): Officially leaving the hotel (and my internet access behind). I’ll sign on when I get home and give updates on the finishers. It’s been a wild adventure, and if you followed along at all, thanks for checking in!

10:45 AM (4/30): They must’ve miscalculated Dan’s distance from the finish, because he rolled across the line at 10:45 (about a 30 hour, 45 minute ride).

10:30 AM (4/30): Dan is about 7 miles from the finish. There are only 4 riders left in the race now: Dan Hughes, Dan Lockery, Walter, and Greg Gleason. At this point, it seems like those 4 will finish, but anything can happen.

10:06 AM (4/30): I’m probably going to be kicked out of the hotel before Walter finishes. I was hoping I could at least get Dan and Greg’s time recorded live, but they still haven’t posted updates on that (not sure if it’s because they haven’t made it or because they’re just slow to update). Check-out is at 11, so I’ll be live until close to then. After that, I’ll probably have to wait until I get home to finalize and post times.

8:48 AM (4/30): The leader, Dan Hughes, is estimated to be at the finish within the hour. The word is that he’s riding very light. Something like 2 feed bags and a single tube taped under his seat.

8:18 AM (4/30): Cereal, bananas, and bagels in the belly. Watching some Everton (get f’ed Chelsea) and looking to chillax while we wait for word from Walter and the rest of the riders out there. It seems like everyone I’ve talked to has said that the gravel was basically all mud and the B roads were essentially impassable. At this point, I think we’ll be doing well to see 5 finishers this year.

6:50 AM (4/30): Josh just got back to the hotel, and I’m astonished his bike is still in one piece. I’m astonished he’s still in one piece. It’s messy out there, friends.

6:24 AM (4/30): Walter is with Matt Acker and Jackson Hinde in Pella at Walmart. They have about 60 miles left to go, so I would expect them in around noon or maybe 11 if the wind settles down a bit.

5:47 AM (4/30): Shout out to the farmhouse in Knoxville that let a soaking wet, muddy group of cyclist strangers into their house at 4:30 in the morning. Iowa’s aight.

5:17 AM (4/30): As of around 2 AM, there were only 13 riders left in the race. I think that was before Josh, Sarah, and Luke stopped, so I’m guessing we’re at around 10 people left. They’re estimating 7 or 8 AM for the first place finish (still Dan Hughes).

4:48 AM (4/30): Just got word that Josh and 2 other people are calling it at around mile 250. The rain and wind all night long, combined with the low temperatures make hypothermia a real threat. 250 miles in this weather is an incredibly impressive ride. Walter is still out on course with the top few people, but I suspect they’re about all that’s left from the original field.

1:15 AM (4/30): A bit after 10:30 last night, Josh had caught up with the group of 5 in front of him, so he is no longer alone which is good because nighttime is scary. It appears that the rain has dwindled just a bit, but that wind is still nearly 20 mph. I haven’t heard an official count, but it looks like somewhere around 18-20+ riders made the checkpoint last night, with a few suspected DNFs after the checkpoint.

9:38 PM (4/29): Alright, fam. I’m going to try to get some Zs in while the riders travel between Checkpoint #2 and the end. Last I heard there were 30 riders left in contention, with not all of them at the second checkpoint yet. It’s supposed to be a cold, rainy, windy night, so we may see a few more DNFs pop up. Catch ya in the morning.

9:32 PM (4/29): Nice win for SKC. They had many chances for more goals, but I suppose I’m sated with a 3-0 win.

9:14 PM (4/29): Checkpoint #2 is at the Cumming Tap, AKA, everyone is refueling with a brew. Given current speeds of Walter and Josh, I’m guessing Walter will be back to Grinnell sometime around 6 or 7 AM and Josh will roll in around 8 or 9 AM.

8:31 PM (4/29): Josh rolls into Checkpoint #2 about 2 and a half hours before the cutoff. We’re on the downhill slide now. And by “downhill” I mean “really hilly and into a headwind for basically the rest of the race”.

8:26 PM (4/29): Steve Fuller is keeping things tidy on his Twitter for Checkpoint #2. Looks like Walter made it in a bit before 7 with people trickling in after him. Scott rolled in around 8:08, seemingly without Josh so he must’ve pulled away. Still waiting on updates from him.

8:06 PM (4/29): Sounds like Dan Hughes is about 25 minutes ahead of Greg Gleason — both are through Checkpoint #2. At the time of the update, there were two riders rolling in so hopefully we’ll hear soon who those were.

7:39 PM (4/29): SKC v RSL kicks off. Carry me to bedtime, boys.

7:35 PM (4/29): Man, that was stellar. The difference between warm and wet and cold and wet is spectacular. Fun story – Walter was telling us last night that one of the supporters got super drunk last year and threw up in the hot tub. I’m both happy and ashamed that I wasn’t that guy this year. Still no updates from the field, but they were expecting the leaders at Checkpoint 2 sometime around 6 — meaning that things are going a bit slower into that wind than planned.

6:29 PM (4/29): Hot Tub Time Machine. BRB.

5:23 PM (4/29): Josh and Scott are in Winterset with a few other riders. Sounds like the wind has pretty well demolished everyone, so they’re going to eat some food and regroup there before making the final push for Checkpoint #2.

4:42 PM (4/29): For the time being, the rain appears to have stopped (in Grinnell, at least). The incredible NE winds have not, however. Currently we’re looking at between 25 and 30 mph winds. The rain looks to be on its way back in a few hours from now, prepping for a chilly, wet night ahead.

4:00 PM (4/29): Cracked the first beer. Made it all the way until 4 o’clock.

3:39 PM (4/29): Haven’t heard much from any of the riders or Guitar Ted, so I’m assuming things are still going well. If the SKC match gets postponed tonight, I might be in for an early bed time.

2:42 PM (4/29): Sounds like Walter flatted and fell back into 2 unnamed people that, I believe, are probably Josh and Scott. Hopefully he can carry them out of the darkness and make a run for the 2 leaders ahead of them.

2:23 PM (4/29): Josh is in his pizza place and seems to be enjoying the headwind. Gettin’ cray cray in the middle of nowhere.

1:33 PM (4/29): Greg and Dan have pulled a away a bit from Walter currently, and Josh and Scott are behind him. The leaders are about 55 miles from Checkpoint #2, and they’re turning into a headwind with a bit of mud coming up. RIP your derailleurs.

1:23 PM (4/29): It’s funny hearing people from out of state pronounce Madrid wrong. This isn’t Spain, you guys!

12:52 PM (4/29): Shout out to my reader(s) in Nigeria! No idea how you stumbled across this blog, but thanks for checking it out!

12:10 PM (4/29): Walter is still in the lead group of 3 with Dan Hughes and Greg Gleason. Josh and Scott Ryder are riding together just a bit back of that group. First place woman is Sarah Cooper in 10th overall, at around the same mileage. Still a decent group of people pretty close together up there!

12:01 PM (4/29): I just found out that 105-110 miles in is around Madrid. Josh should stop by Nevada and say hi to Papa Bear! Also – it’s starting to sleet out there. Here we go!

11:56 AM (4/29): Josh has hit a bit above the century mark at 105 miles, so roughly 1/3 of the way done. Still no word on the donut count.

11:06 AM (4/29): And Sunderland is relegated. 1 down, 2 to go. It seems likely that Middlesbrough will be relegated as well. Jason Scholbrock’s Hull City are going to fight to stay above water and keep Swansea below them!

10:53 AM (4/29): And so it begins. The rain has set in on Grinnell — I’m not entirely sure where the course goes, but given the radar is basically entirely green there’s a good chance the riders are getting a bit of a shower!

10:31 AM (4/29): The rain is approaching quickly as the winds pick up. It looks like they’ve got about an hour before it starts and doesn’t stop for a few hours. That could certainly mix things up a bit en route to Checkpoint #2.

10:27 AM (4/29): What do you guys think? Is Sunderland going to be relegated today?

9:00 AM (4/29): Someone named Dave puked on course. That’s a rough way to go out, but he sounded in high spirits still

8:22 AM (4/29): Checkpoint #1 is now closed with 48 riders making it through in time.

7:09 AM (4/29): Josh rolls into Checkpoint #1 with a bit over an hour to spare. Gummy worm status: burnin’ and turnin’. The next checkpoint is at mile 193 and the cutoff is 11 PM.

7:00 AM (4/29): The leaders reach Checkpoint #1. The current leader is Dan Hughes, with Walter in the group of 3 at the front.

6:07 AM (4/29): There are 4 people in the lead group right now, and one of them is Walter! I should’ve mentioned he’s the defending champ. They weren’t 100% sure on the 4th rider in that group, so perhaps Josh is the sleeper on this one.

5:58 AM (4/29): Just woke up from a power nap. The riders took off into a headwind, so the first checkpoint could be a doozy.

4:00 AM (4/29): 71 riders line up and fire off the line. The first checkpoint is 46 miles away, with a cutoff of 4 hours and 15 minutes.

3:33 AM (4/29): Josh and Walter are at the start and ready to rip.

3:15 AM (4/29): Josh and Walter head out towards the start. It’s about 3 miles away.